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On the corner of Beale and South 3rd, Silky O’Sullivan’s is an enormous, Irish-Caribbean-themed drunk-making factory whose gimmick is keeping several goats in a pen on the patio. Barbara Blue, the middle-aged human jukebox who performs here five evenings a week, is a trip. Opposite Silky’s is Rum Boogie, a Cajun-spiced restaurant and dance hall. The brick walls are hung with music memorabilia, including some 200 guitars autographed by the likes of Sting and Billy Joel. Down the block is Black Diamond, a cozy dive hidden in plain sight in the middle of Beale, a chill option for those looking to sit back with a beer and watch some quality blues. For weekend after-hours action, try Blues City Cafe, with a late-night menu and jumpin’ jazz, funk and rockabilly acts.

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MEMPHIS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TOURS

For those without a car or short on time, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Roll Tours (www.memphisrocktour.com) will take you on a 90-minute create-your-own trip of sights both famous (Graceland, Beale St) and obscure (Carl Perkins’s tomb, hole-in-the-wall BBQ joints). Local guides love to show you the weird side of town. Tours will pick you up at any area hotel.

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A little further east on Beale is the New Daisy Theater, where you can see kickboxing, Elvis impersonators, up-and-coming rock, metal, and rap acts, and the occasional star performer. To the west, at the corner of Beale and South Main, is The Orpheum, with its glittering red-and-gold marquee. This opulent 1928 theater, originally built for vaudeville, now hosts traveling Broadway musicals and big-name musicians and comedians. It’s even got its own ghost - little pigtailed Mary, killed by a downtown trolley, is sometimes seen enjoying the shows from C-5, Box 5.

All 3am cravings can be satisfied at Dyer’s, a Beale diner specializing in deep-fried hamburgers cooked in the same constantly replenished batch of grease since 1912. After eating, spend the night near the action at the handsome Peabody Hotel, where a flock of ducks is marched from the penthouse to the marble lobby fountain every morning at 11am.

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From blues to soul to rock ‘n’ roll, here are some of the best Memphis songs:

• “Beale Street Blues,“ WC Handy

• “Blue Suede Shoes,“ Elvis Presley

• “Down in the Alley,“ Memphis Minnie

• “Great Balls of Fire,“ Jerry Lee Lewis

• “Green Onions,“ Booker T & the MGs

• “Matchbox,“ Carl Perkins

• “Soul Man,“ Sam & Dave

• “The Thrill is Gone,“ BB King

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The Gibson Beale Street Showcase, not on Beale St proper, offers a 30-minute tour of the factory where the iconic guitars are crafted. The lounge has food and live music. If you’re short on time, peer at the workshop from the oversized street-level window.

Around the corner is the Smithsonian-affiliated Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, a must-see overview of the music of the Mississippi Delta. Exhibits and audiovisual programs show how this gritty riverside city crossed racial divides to revolutionize American music. The audio tour has more than 100 songs spanning the history of Memphis Sound.

If you’re in Memphis on a Sunday, don’t even think about missing church. The Church of the Reverend Al Green, that is. The soul superstar is the pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in a quiet, wooded area of south Memphis, where a robed choir belts out window-rattling hallelujahs and the Reverend Green breaks into songs of praise mid-sermon. Visitors are quite welcome, though you will be asked to tithe. No torn jeans, please.

Next, head directly to Soulsville USA. This historically black neighborhood was once the epicenter of Southern soul music, where local studios launched the careers of Al Green, Booker T & the MGs, and Otis Redding, among others. The centerpiece of a neighborhood revitalization project is the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, housed in a replica of the old Stax Records building. Here, you can step into a rebuilt 100-year-old Mississippi Delta church and get funky on the Soul Train dance floor.

For that true, flesh-tingling